YARNANA – Silent Film About Crochet Artist Olek

“LOST ON THE STREETS OF NEW YORK CITY, A CROCHET GIRL MUST DECIDE WHAT’S REAL BEFORE HER CROCHET WORLD UNRAVELS.”

Olek just might be one of my favorite crochet artists to follow in the news. She’s dramatic and cutting edge and controversial. She is well-known for her crocheted Wall Street Bull cozy and her whole-crocheted-apartment installation. And although I was irked a little bit about her recent comment on the amateur nature of street yarnbombing I find her work creative and fascinating. So I’m certainly intrigued that there’s going to be a film coming out about her called YARNANA. (Thanks to Liz over at Donna’s Decembers – it was her post about it that led me to find out about this.)

The film sounds as offbeat as the artist herself. The blog about it says:

Inspired by the silent film genre, it relies solely on powerful music, sound design and physical expression. The characters speak through modern dance, physical comedy, capoeira, martial arts, poi, belly dancing, breakdance, acrobatics, gymnastics and the instincts of soul searchers.

An interview on East Village Radio (posted on the YARNANA site linked to above) explains that the work is a collaboration between three women – Olek, director Gina Vecchione, and producer Michelle Price. Olek’s work inspired the idea for the film but the three are writing it together.

Note that this is a film, not a documentary. (However there’s an entirely unrelated project in the works by some folks on indiegogo to try to create a documentary on yarnbombing.) The gals call it a “narrative film” and a “love story” – a love story between YARNANA, a girl made of crochet, and real people. It’s about how “someone who is so incredibly giving and colorful can change the landscape of a city.”

Sounds awesome. Filming starts sometime this summer in NYC. Fundraising is happening now on Kickstarter. Looking forward to learning more about it!

Kathryn

San Francisco based and crochet-obsessed writer, dreamer and creative spirit!